Methylene Dimethanesulphonate Research Articles

DNA interstrand crosslinking and sequence selectivity of dimethanesulphonates

Members of the homologous series of alkanediol dimethanesulphonates of general formula H3C.SO2O.(CH2)n.O.SO2.CH3 have been tested for their ability to produce DNA interstrand crosslinking and DNA sequence selectivity of guanine-N7 alkylation. In a sensitive crosslinking gel assay the efficiency of DNA interstrand crosslink formation, dependent on the ability of the alkylating moiety to span critical nucleophilic distances within the DNA, was found at 6 h to be 1,6-hexanediol dimethanesulphonate (Hexa-DMS) (n = 6) greater than methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS) (n = 1) greater than 1,8-octanediol dimethanesulphonate (Octa-DMS) (n = 8) greater than Busulphan (n = 4). The DNA interstrand crosslinking produced by MDMS was not due to either of its hydrolysis products, formaldehyde or methanesulphonic acid (MSA). In contrast the extent of monoalkylation at guanine-N7 as determined by a modified DNA sequencing technique was found to be Busulphan much greater than Hexa-DMS = Octa-DMS, with a sequence selectivity somewhat less than that of other chemotherapeutic alkylating agents such as nitrogen mustards. MDMS at high levels induced a non-specific depurination as a result of the reduction in pH resulting from MSA release. More strikingly MDMS (and MSA) produced a single strong site of guanine reaction (depurination) in a guanine-rich 276 base pair fragment of pBR322 DNA in the sequence of 5'-ATGGTGG-3'. This was observed when non-specific depurination was negligible and was not seen with formic acid. Thus structurally similar alkylating agents can differ in their type and extent of DNA monoalkylation and interstrand crosslinking, and in some cases (e.g. MDMS/MSA) produce reactions with a high degree of selectivity.

Phase II trial of methylene dimethane sulphonate (MDMS) in advanced soft tissue sarcomas of the adult: A study of the EORTC soft tissue and bone sarcoma group

Phase II trial of methylene dimethane sulphonate (MDMS) in advanced soft tissue sarcomas of the adult: A study of the EORTC soft tissue and bone sarcoma group

A negative phase II trial methylene dimethane sulphonate in advanced ovarian cancer (Cancer Research Campaign Phase I/II Trials Committee).

Methylene dimethane sulphonate (MDMS), the first member of the homologous series of dimethane sulphonic acid esters, was administered to 19 patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. All patients had received prior chemotherapy and in addition 3 had received prior radiotherapy. MDMS was given as an i.v. bolus injection at a dose of 125mg m-2 and repeated in a q35 day schedule. Ten patients received only one course, six two courses, two three courses and one four courses. The major toxicity was thrombocytopenia which was cumulative. Serious neutropenia did not occur and no infective episodes requiring i.v. antibiotics were seen. Seven patients experience hair loss and four nausea and vomiting. Sixteen patients were evaluable for response but no objective remissions were seen although three patients had stable disease lasting at least 8 weeks. MDMS is therefore not recommended for further trial in epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

The effects of bifunctional alkylating agents on DNA synthesis in sensitive and resistant Yoshida cells

The effects of the alkylating agents methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS), sulphur mustard (SM) and methyl methanesulphonate (MMS) on DNA synthesis have been investigated in Yoshida sarcoma cell lines sensitive (YS) and resistant (YR) to these agents. Measurement of overall DNA synthesis by [ 3H]thymidine uptake into DNA indicated that both MDMS and SM, but not MMS, induced a greater depression of DNA synthesis in YS cells than in YR cells. Analysis of the sizes of newly synthesised strands of DNA by pulse labelling and alkaline sucrose gradient sedimentation revealed that MDMS inhibited the initation of new replicons and also reduced the size of new DNA strands. The relative extents of inhibition of replicon initation in MDMS-treated YS and YR cells were similar and reduced by caffeine while YR cells were comparatively less sensitive to the effect of MDMS on the sizes of DNA molecules synthesised. Similarly, YR cells apparently synthesised longer DNA strands following SM treatment compared to YS cells suggesting an association between the size of DNA molecules synthesized and the sensitivity of Yoshida cells to bifunctional alkylating agents.

The role of formaldehyde in methylene dimethanesulphonate-induced DNA cross-links and its relevance to cytotoxicity

The interaction of the antitumour dialkanesulphonate ester, methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS) with the DNA of Yoshida sarcoma cells has been studied using the technique of alkaline elution. A marked retention which was reversed by proteolytic treatment indicated the presence of DNA-protein cross-links. A small proteinase-resistant retention was also observed which indicated that a low level of DNA-DNA interstrand cross-links also occurred. Treatment of cells with the amounts of formaldehyde expected by hydrolysis of the drug showed proteinase-reversible DNA-protein cross-linking which on proteolytic removal revealed a small number of single-strand breaks. Thus, MDMS causes both DNA-protein and DNA-DNA interstrand cross-links, the former component being attributed totally to the formaldehyde produced on the drug's hydrolysis. Cell survival data showed formaldehyde to be comparatively non-cytotoxic, providing evidence that DNA-DNA cross-links observable by this technique may be associated with the cytotoxicity of MDMS.

DNA strand breaks and repair synthesis in Yoshida sarcoma cells with differential sensitivities to bifunctional alkylating agents and UV light

The induction of DNA-strand breaks and repair synthesis has been examined in cultured Yoshida sarcoma cell lines sensitive (YS) and resistant (YR) to methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS). Using an alkaline DNA unwinding-hydroxylapatite technique, we were able to detect breaks in DNA immediately after MDMS treatment and at similar levels in both YS and YR cells. MDMS treatment and post-treatment incubation in the presence of 1-β-D-arabino-furanosylcytosine (araC) lead to a large increase in the numbers of breaks when compared with MDMS treatment alone which indicated that many of the DNA-strand breaks seen after MDMS treatment were intermediates in excision repair. The magnitude of break incidence with the araC treatment was again equal in YS and YR cells indicating that these 2 lines made enzymic incision next to MDMS-induced lesions with equal capacities. During incubation following MDMS treatment, the levels of DNA-strand breaks in YR cells were found to decrease more rapidly than in YS cells. Parallel DNA-repair synthesis estimations, using BND-cellulose chromatography, revealed that the increased rate of decline in breaks in YR cells was accompanied by an increase in repair-synthesis activity compared to YS cells. This was interpreted as indicating that an intermediate step in an excision-repair pathway for MDMS-induced lesions was relatively deficient in YS compared to YR cells. A similar difference in the rates of decline of DNA-strand breaks between YS and YR cells was also observed following treatment with UV light to which MDMS-resistant YR cells also display cross-resistance. However, no such difference was detected following treatment with the monofunctional alkylating agent, methyl methanesulphonate, to which YS and YR cells are equally sensitive. These results suggest that resistance to MDMS in the YR cell line is achieved by an increased efficiency in the gap-sealing component of the excision-repair process.

Enhancement of lethality and chromosome aberrations by caffeine in Yoshida sarcoma cells treated with methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS)

Enhancement of lethality and chromosome aberrations by caffeine in Yoshida sarcoma cells treated with methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS)

Methylene dimethane sulphonate (MDMS) resistance and the nature of damage and repair in DNA

Methylene dimethane sulphonate (MDMS) resistance and the nature of damage and repair in DNA

Characteristics of Dimer Formation, Excision and DNA Strand Growth in Yoshida Sensitive and Resistant Cells after Ultraviolet Irradiation

The sedimentation properties of the nascent DNA of Yoshida sarcoma cells, sensitive and resistant to methylene dimethane sulphonate and cross-resistant to U.V. light, have been studied after irradiation with U.V. light at 11 and 22J/m2. It has been shown that the DNA formed immediately after irradiation with 11J/m2 is some eight to nine times longer than the calculated inter--dimer distance in both cell-lines. Differences were, however, observed between the two cell-lines, in that the absence of excision of dimers in the sensitive cells was accompanied by the formation of a DNA component of low molecular weight, whereas excision in the resistant line was not so accompanied. There are some similarities between the Yoshida tumour line sensitive to methylene dimethane sulphonate and the U.V.-sensitive line of Xeroderma pigmentosum.

Electron spin resonance study of changes during development of solid yoshida tumour. II. Paramagnetic metal ions

Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy was used to examine changes in the concentration of paramagnetic metal ions in Yoshida tumours carried by female Wistar rats. Blood, spleen and lymph nodes from these animals were also examined by ESR. A decrease in the concentration of a paramagnetic species associated with mitochondrial activity, and marked increases in those thought to be associated with inflammatory or immune reactions and cell lysis, were observed in the tumours within one day of implantation. During development of the tumour, and during its regression after treatment with methylene dimethane sulphonate (MDMS), further changes were observed in the concentration of the species. These were dependent on the region of the tumour examined. In blood, development of the tumour produced an increase in ceruloplasmin and a decrease in iron-transferrin. An increase in spleen weight, as the tumour developed, was accompanied by a small decrease in the concentration of species with g-values of 6-0 and 4-3, which was reversed on regression of the treated tumour. The presence of metastases in the regional lymph nodes produced distinguishable changes in the ESR spectra.

Electron spin resonance study of changes during development of solid Yoshida tumour. I: Ascorbyl radical

The ascorbyl radical concentration has been observed, by means of electron spin resonance spectroscopy, in the blood and spleen of female Wistar rats carrying a Yoshida tumour. The ascorbyl radical concentration of the tumour tissue itself was studied as the tumour was developing, and as it was regressing after treatment with methylene dimethane sulphonate. Changes in the concentration of this radical may be related to host tumour reactions.

The sensitivity of HeLa and chinese hamster (ovary) cells to methylene dimethane sulphonate

HeLa and Chinese hamster (ovary) cells were exposed in vitro to methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS) and their survival of colony-forming ability was assayed in monolayer culture. Asynchronous cultures were exposed to the drug for the whole culture period but cell survival was complicated by the toxicity of formaldehyde which is a final breakdown product of the drug. A short treatment schedule of 15 min within the hydrolytic half life of the agent was therefore employed and the response of synchronous cultures of HeLa cells was then assayed throughout the course of the cell cycle. Cells were most sensitive at the beginning of the DNA synthetic phase (early-S) and most resistant at the end (late-S).

Effect of methyl methanesulphonate (MMS) and methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS) on the template activity of dna isolated from MDMS-sensitive and -resistant yoshida cells

Both methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS) and methyl methanesulphonate (MMS) cause the template activity of Yoshida cell DNA to decrease in a dose-dependent manner. The MDMS-resistant subline of Yoshida tumour is less sensitive in terms of DNA template activity than the MDMS-sensitive subline towards both agents. Although the difference in sensitivity is not reflected in the survival data after each agent, it does suggest that the DNA from each cell line differs in its capacity to function as an efficient template.

The effect of methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS) on the conformation of DNA and its dependence on base composition

The interaction of the alkanesulphonate, methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS) with DNA has been studied. Thermal denaturation studies on mixtures of MDMS and DNA showed a dose dependent decrease of the melting temperature midpoint ( Tm) of the DNA. In addition, an irreversible decrease in ultraviolet absorption (hypochromism) preceded the hyperchromic shift, the magnitude of the former being linearly related to both the relative concentration of MDMS and the G-C content of the DNA used. Neither the reduction in melting temperature nor the initial UV absorption decrease occurred after dialysis of the reaction mixture. Equimolar proportions of the hydrolysis products of MDMS did not give the same effects as observed with the unhydrolysed agent. A similar hypochromism followed by strand separation occurs when DNA is allowed to stand with MDMS at room temperature, the time of subsequent strand separation being related to the treatment level of the drug. A weak association of MDMS with DNA is considered to be involved resulting in a local compression of the helical structure in the vicinity of the G-C pairs. It is suggested that this conformational change may act as a substrate for repair enzymes in vivo.

The use of counter-current distribution to examine the effect of damaging agents on DNA

Mammalian DNA's were separated using a counter-current distribution system for demonstrating alteration in secondary structure after heat denaturation and drug treatment. By using this method a complete separation of native and denatured DNA was achieved. Although the separation of DNA depends on the temperature used for denaturation, the counter-current distribution pattern did not follow exactly the hyperchromic shift. The results suggest that counter-current distribution offers a complementary approach for the study of DNA secondary structure as this method reveals alterations occurring over a wider temperature range than the increase in ultraviolet absorption. The changes in distribution pattern demonstrate cross-linkage occurring with nitrogen mustard and single-strand breaks following methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS) treatment in vitro.

Repair replication and unscheduled DNA synthesis in mammalian cell lines showing differential sensitivity to alkylating agents

Repair replication has been measured by CsCl density gradient centrifugation in cell lines showing differential sensitivity to mono- and bifunctional alkylating agents. A correlation between cellular sensitivity as measured by the D 0 value and amount of repair replication was demonstrated after exposure of Yoshida cells to nitrogen mustard (HN2) and methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS). No differences in the amount of repair replication after methyl methanesulphonate (MMS) were observed in two L5178Y cell lines which differed in sensitivity by virtue of the shoulder size only. The Yoshida cell lines showed no difference in sensitivity to MMS and no difference in amount of repair replication. Incorporation of tritiated thymidine 9[ 3H]TdR) after drug treament was also measured by autoradiography. The qualitative differences observed between the two cell lines were similar to those obtained in density gradient experiments. The temporal pattern of [ 3H]TdR uptake indicated that the reduced repair replication observed in the sensitive line after HN2 and MDMS is not due to slower synthesis. The kinetics of [ 3H]TdR incorporation differed for all three mutagens suggesting that different enzymes may be involved in each case.

The nature of the resistance to methylene dimethane sulphonate in the Yoshida sarcoma.

The nature of the resistance to methylene dimethane sulphonate in the Yoshida sarcoma.

Alkaline sucrose sedimentation studies of DNA from P388F lymphoma cells treated with difunctional alkylating agents

A procedure is described, for the alkaline sucrose sedimentation analysis of DNA of high molecular weight from cultured P388F lymphoma cells. Template DNA sedimented rapidly giving a unimodal profile. The sedimentation rate of this material was reduced by treatment of the cells with [ 3H]thymidine, or with low levels of HN 2 and methylenedimethane sulphonate (MDMS). The newly synthesised DNA from P388F cells gave bimodal sedimentation profiles, of which the rapidly sedimenting component cosedimented with template DNA. The medium sedimenting component was unique to the newly synthesised DNA and became disproportionately labelled with [ 3H]thymidine of high specific activity. On post incubation in fresh medium, the medium sedimenting component was converted into a rapidly sedimenting material. This process was obstructed in cells treated with MDMS in the dose range LD 25-LD 50.

A transferable "resistance factor" from in vitro cultured MDMS-resistant Yoshida sarcoma cells.

Cells of the methylene dimethanesulphonate-(MDMS)-resistant Yoshida sarcoma cell line contain a low molecular weight "resistance factor" which is present in the culture medium of these cells and may be utilized by MDMS-sensitive Yoshida sarcoma cells either by co-culturing the two cell lines or by culturing the MDMS-sensitive Yoshida cells in a medium containing 20% used medium of MDMS-resistant Yoshida cells or in the presence of dialysed medium from resistant cells. The "resistance factor" does not inactivate the drug itself or its metabolites, and it has no influence on the sensitivity of the cells if added after MDMS treatment. Twenty-four hours seems to be enough time for the transfer of the resistance factor, but its effect on whole populations decreases within 24 hours of ceasing the supply. The relationship between these findings and the known phenomena of metabolic co-operation are discussed.

The establishment of MDMS-resistant cloned cell lines from in vitro cultured, MDMS-sensitive, Yoshida sarcoma cells

A cloned cell line established from an in vivo maintained Yoshida tumour, known to be sensitive to methylene dimethanesulphonate (MDMS), was subjected to selection in vitro by repeated treatments with MDMS. After six successive clonal isolations the resultant clone showed an increase in resistance to MDMS by a factor of 10 3. The cell lines selected in vitro for resistance to MDMS were not crossresistant to HN 2, suggesting that sensitivity to bifunctional alkylating agents is controlled by at least two mutations. The biphasic nature of the dose-response curves even after successive cloning indicates some instability of factors determining resistance.